File photo dated 30/10/19 of the Grenfell Tower in west London
(Picture: PA Wire)A property covered in flammable cladding is still listed on a City Hall housing portal for low-income Londoners despite the issue having been raised with the Mayor of London.
Last week, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Hina Bokhari wrote to Sadiq Khan to express concern that a property in east London was listed on the Homes for Londoners website despite it having “serious fire safety defects”.
Residents of Turnberry Quay, a 13-storey development on the Isle of Dogs, were informed in January that the building would require remediation work after failing a fire safety test two years ago.
Built just five years ago, the property is covered in the same type of combustible cladding that was present on Grenfell Tower.
Despite having been flagged with the Mayor of London’s team last week, the property is still available to view on City Hall’s Homes for Londoners website at the time of writing.
It is the second time in the space of a year that Homes for Londoners – which directs low- and middle-income Londoners to shared ownership and London Living Rent housing – has listed properties that have been deemed unsafe.
Having been made aware of three unsafe properties on the web portal in July last year, Sadiq Khan confirmed that he had instructed City Hall officers to “undertake a review of how properties are listed on the Homes for Londoners portal” so that it does not happen again.
But Ms Bokhari said she is “concerned and frustrated” that another unsafe property was able to be listed on the site “given the assurances” that the Mayor of London provided last year.
She said: “This situation is simply not good enough and Londoners need assurances that no more dangerous properties will be listed on the mayor’s Homes for Londoners portal.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Last year, after being made aware of two properties listed on the Homes for Londoners site that had unsafe cladding, the mayor committed to reviewing the process for listing properties.
“The new approach, which started in November, requires partners to confirm that all buildings listed are safe for occupation and to ensure all available building safety information is shared with residents, including details of any interim safety measures. In addition, all partners are required to review their properties on the site and remove any that are not safe for occupation.
“No resident should be left in the dark when it comes to knowing the fire safety risks in their building and these measures ensure full transparency for prospective residents.”
As of Monday February 7, shared ownership properties in Turnberry Quay were still available to view on the Homes for Londoners website.
According to Inside Housing, existing residents of the building have so far spent a combined £350,000 on legal fees, surveys and fire alarms, and have been unable to secure funding from the Government’s Building Safety Fund to have the cladding removed.
None of the residents are able to sell their homes until the issues are resolved.
